Tributes have been pouring in for a Pakistani teenager who was
killed on Monday when he tackled a suicide bomber targeting his
school in the Hangu area.

Aitzaz Hasan, 15, was with friends outside school when they
spotted a man wearing a suicide vest.

Despite the pleas of his fellow students, he decided to confront
and capture the bomber who then detonated his vest, his cousin
told the BBC.

Aitzaz is being hailed as a hero in an outpouring of praise on
social media.

There have even been calls for him to receive the army's highest
honour awarded to those who have sacrificed their life for their
country, though it is unclear if he would be qualified to receive
it as a civilian.

"We the citizens believe that State of Pk must award
Nishan-i-Haider to Pk's brave son Shaheed Aitezaz," journalist
Nasim Zehra tweeted on Thursday.

Confrontation

The incident took place on Monday in Ibrahimzai, a Shia-dominated
region of Hangu, in north-western Pakistan. There were almost
2,000 students in attendance at the time of the attack, media
reports say.

"My cousin sacrificed his life saving his school and hundreds of
students and school fellows," his cousin Mudassar Hassan Bangish
told the BBC's Aleem Maqbool.

"The suicide bomber wanted to destroy the school and school
students. It was my cousin who stopped him from
this...destruction."

There were said to be about 2,000 students at Aitzaz's school
at the time of the attack

He then described the sequence of events as related to him by
witnesses at the school.

Aitzaz's friends had urged him not to confront the suicide bomber
but he ignored their pleas and decided to confront the man with
the intention of halting him.

"So he told them 'I'm going to stop him. He is going to school to
kill my friends'. He wanted to capture this suicide bomber. He
wanted to stop [him]. Meanwhile the suicide bomber blasted
himself which resulted in the death of my cousin," Mr Bangish
said.

He described Aitzaz as "brave" and a good student. "He always
used to say 'I am always ready for my country'."

His family insist that rather than focus on the sorrow brought
about by his death, they want to focus on their pride in his
actions.

"He is a shahid [martyr]. A shahid of his whole nation," he said.

Aitzaz's death: Twitter reaction

Hundreds of users have been tweeting the story of Pakistan's
fallen teenager.

"Aitzaz Hasan, 15 years old, gave his life to stop a suicide
bomber in Pakistan. A reminder to us all what real courage is.
RIP, brave soul," writer and journalist Omer Aziz tweeted on
Thursday.

"From #Malala to #Aitzaz Irum young people paving the way for
Jinnah's #Pakistan with their blood. #onemillionaitzazs," blogger
Murtaza Solangi tweeted.

Government officials have not yet visited the school or Aitzaz's
family, prompting requests from Twitter users that they do so.
Politicians and public figures also added to the chorus of praise
for Aitzaz.

"My son made his mother cry, but saved hundreds of mothers from
crying for their children," Mujahid Ali, Aitzaz's father is
quoted as saying.

Sectarian violence

According to Mr Bangish, people in the area would like to see the
government give Aitzaz an award to recognise his bravery, and
compared him with celebrated Pakistani education campaigner
Malala Yousafzai - a comparison being echoed across social media.

On Twitter, users are paying tribute to Aitzaz using the hashtags
#onemillionaitzaz and #AitzazBraveheart echoing the language used
online around figures such as Malala and the Delhi rape victim,
whose death galvanised Indian public opinion and prompted changes
in rape laws there.

Former Pakistani ambassador to the US Sherry Rehman tweeted:"Hangu's shaheed Aitzaz Hasan is
#Pakistan's pride. Give him a medal at least. Another young one
with heartstopping courage #AitzazBraveheart."

Hangu is close to Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal regions,
which have a strong Taliban and al-Qaeda presence and the area is
also known for sectarian violence against Shia Muslims.

Mr Bangish said the region's residents are "patriotic people" but
have to contend with difficult conditions.

He he added that in order to cope with such conditions and tackle
the "fights and blast ... needs courage like Aitzaz has. We
salute his bravery".